Up until the 1900s in the United States, police officers primarily manually directed traffic through a combination of using hand signals from towers which allowed them to get a good view of traffic. They were controlled manually by police officers through the use of Semaphore arms during the day, and at night time they relied on gas to illuminate in darkness. These very early traffic lights first took root in London. They started out as a means to provide signaling of railroad activity to warn and alert those riding on horseback, as well as a way to provide pedestrians with a secure way to cross roads with the increase of horse and buggy traffic. In this post, we’re covering the evolution of the often overlooked traffic light and giving some insight into how they helped to pave the way to road safety over time.īefore we gained access to wide spread electricity, traffic lights and other roadside lighting like street lights were powered by gas and flame… And they were actually around quite a bit before cars came into the picture.
Given that nearly 40% of all crashes are estimated to occur at intersections, it’s abundantly clear that without those who put their energy and effort into developing this road safety technology, things could be far worse. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to navigate the roads without the risk of accidents, especially not with the kind of traffic that we have to deal with today. Traffic lights are often overlooked, despite the fact that they play an integral role in road safety.
Some of them, like ours, are even solar powered to combine optimal functionality with efficiency.
The traffic lights around today are top of the line.